An Artist's Heart
by B4K4 N3K0
Summary: Kagome is an artist against her mother's wishes. When InuYasha enters the picture, Kagome has to choose between what she loves and what her mother wants.
1. One Girl's Love

This is the first serious story I've written. All my others are comedies, so this is something new. Anyways, this is a story about Kagome Higurashi, who is an artist. Unfortunately, her mother doesn't agree with this. When InuYasha enters the scene, Kagome must choose between her family and her passion. Please R&R.

Alright, I rewrote this. It's pretty much the same, but it's been updated to suit my talents more. I'm hoping that by rewriting my old stories, I'll get back the ambition to update.

_**AN ARTIST'S HEART **_

Chapter 1: One girl's love

Kagome let out a cry of frustration. It just wasn't coming out right! The mountain landscape just did not seem to want to cooperate. "Something wrong?" Sango asked.

"Yeah. Humanity's gone to the dogs, and the government is driven by commercial greed. But more importantly, my painting is being a pain in the ass," Kagome replied bitterly and slumped down into the chair behind her.

Sango studied it. "Looks fine to me," She said.

"'Fine' is far from what I need," Kagome informed her friend as her cell phone began to sing its little jingle. "Hello?" Kagome answered.

"Where are you?" Her mother's voice asked from the other line.

Kagome hesitated before answering, "…Art studio."

"Kagome! You know how I feel about you spending valuable studying time in that art stadium!"

"First off, it's a studio, not a stadium. Second, my grades are fine, mom. There's no reason to worry. I'll be home in a short while. Good-bye, mother." Kagome hung up and stood. "I better get home," She smiled at Sango, who nodded. "Bye."

Kagome took the elevator down from the third floor and strolled outside. A cool breeze gently blew Kagome's hair as she climbed onto her bike. Thoughts ran through her head as she pedaled, her eyes studying the city. _Why? _She thought, _Why is mom so against my art?_

Ten minutes later, Kagome pulled up alongside the shrine steps. Leaving her bike, she began the long walk up. When she reached the top and slipped in through the door, her mother was waiting. "You hung up on me," Ms. Higurashi said coldly.

"Yes," Kagome responded, "Sorry. But it's my life, and my grades. Does it really matter as long as I'm not failing?" She walked up the stairs to her room before her mom could say anything in response.

In her room, she lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling. When was her mother going to understand? Art was so important to her. She couldn't-_wouldn't_-give it up. She closed her eyes. "I won't give up my art..." And she drifted in to a dreamless sleep.


	2. Enter, InuYasha!

Disclaimer: I do not claim possesion to any of the InuYasha characters.

The story thus far

Kagome is an artist with a not-so-understanding mother. She tries desperately to continue with her art, but her mother just won't have it. What canshe do?

_Italic :_thoughts

\\\\\\\\\ :scene change

Kagome hurried down the hall, pulling on her sock. "Ahhh!" she cried as she tripped down the stairs. Her mother had already left for work, and the bus was coming in five minutes.

_Ah! I'm so freakin' late!_ She grabbed a bagel and ran out the door, pulling on her jacket as she went. As she ran down the street, she quickly ran a brush through her hair, and just barely caught the bus. With a sigh of relief, Kagome sat down on one of the seats to relax. Her mind wandered as the city bus drove along. A few moments later, a young man sat down next to her. He had long white hair and the most amazing gold eyes Kagome had ever seen. He wore a red shirt and loose jeans, a CD player in his lap. Bobbing his head with the music flowing through his headphones, he glanced at her and smiled. Kagome's heart skipped a beat and she almost melted. _He is so hot!_

"I'm InuYasha Takahashi," the man introduced himself, "And you are?" He pushed his headphones down around his neck.

"I'm Kagome Higurashi."

"Pleased to meet you, "InuYasha said and shook her hand. (A/N: Sorry for InuYasha's OOC behavior, but I decided to make him polite for this story. And, just so you know, he has no ears in this story. Why? Because I say so, and it's my story.)

"Likewise," Kagome smiled and returned his greeting.

Suddenly InuYasha let go and stood up. "This is my stop," he said and gave a little wave, "Maybe we'll meet again, Miss Kagome Higurashi." He walked off the bus and Kagome smiled dreamily.

"Maybe."

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"I swear Sango! He was the hottest guy I've ever seen!" Kagome said as she and Sango carried their lunches to eat outside. "He had the most gorgeous golden eyes, the most beautiful hair-it was long, and I usually don't like that, but it works for him- and he was so polite and kind!"

"And you met this guy on the city bus while on your way to school?" Sango asked. Kagome nodded. "Then you'd better give up on him. You'll probably never see him again.

"Maybe you're right," Kagome sighed.

"Hey! If it isn't little Miss Kagome Higurashi!" Kagome turned to see InuYasha with another boy beckoning to her from just off campus.

"And maybe you're wrong!" Kagome squealed with glee and ran over to InuYasha. Sango stared. Kagome had been right, he was hot. But her eys weren't focused on InuYasha. Oh, no, she was staring at his friend. She jogged over to them. As she neared, she could hear their conversation.

"I was just talking about you with Sango!" Kagome was saying while InuYasha gave a knock-out smile and nodded slightly. He **appeared** to really listening as Kagome began to describe Sango, but Sango highly doubted that he was. Guys like this put Sango on edge. She didn't trust him as far as she could throw him.

Sango cleared her throat as she neared and all three of them turned to look at her. "Sango, I presume?" InuYasha guessed with a smile. _Maybe he was listening after all..._Sango bitterly thought.

"Yes," Sango said with a forced smile. "And you must be InuYasha," She shook hands with Inu-Yasha and he smiled. The boy next to him elbowed InuYasha in the side.

"This is Miroku, my best friend and roommate," InuYasha said with a roll of his eyes. Miroku could be such a pest sometimes.

"Hello," Miroku said with a smile. Sango shook his hand, but unfortunately, she didn't notice his other hand creeping down until it grabbed her ass. With a scream, Sango slapped the boy and jumped back several feet.

"You pervert!" She yelled, "Let's go, Kagome." Sango grabbed Kagome's hand and stormed off in the direction of the school. The poor girl looked over her shoulder and gave InuYasha a little wave as her furious friend lugged her back like a rag doll.

InuYasha glared at Miroku. "You just had to do that, didn't you?" InuYasha said. He stomped away angrily, leaving Miroku standing there with a confused look of innocence on his face.

"What did I do?" Miroku asked.

END

Please review. Arigato-gozaimas.


	3. Paint the Picture of Love

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha, nor do I claim to own it.

scene change

_Italic _ thought

**An Artist's Heart**

Chapter 3: Paint the Picture of Love

Kagome buried her head in her hands. "Oh no!" She moaned. She slowly slid her hands away, hoping it would disappear, but it was still there. The big, red "F" on her math test. _Mom's gonna kill me! She's gonna blame it all on my art. She'll never let me go to the studio!_ Kagome could feel the tears building up. In truth, it wasn't because of her art. It was because she couldn't concentrate. Ever since the day she'd met InuYasha, she couldn't keep her mind off him. That had been two weeks ago, and her grades had been steadily going down hill from then on. Kagome stood up and walked to the front of the room. "Mr. Shimotomi?"

The stout, balding man seated at the desk looked up. "Yes?"

Kagome looked at her paper and asked, "It there any way I can bring this grade up? I'm afraid I just wasn't feeling well when we took this test."

Mr. Shimotomi leaned back in his chair and scratched his chin as he thought. Finally, he leaned forward again. "Since you're a good student, I'll give you a second chance. Come in after school Friday and retake the test. If the grade is better than what you got the first time, I'll use that one instead of the F, okay?"

Kagome nodded feverishly. "Oh thank you, Mr. Shimotomi! Thank you!" She bowed several times before the bell rang. "Oh! See you Friday, Mr. Shimotomi!" She then ran out the classroom. Mr. Shimotomi was her last class so she'd be heading home now.

Out in the hall, Sang spotted Kagome slamming her locker shut. "Bad day?" Sango asked as she neared. Kagome frowned and handed Sango the test. "Ooh! What happened?" Sango asked as she looked at the paper.

"InuYasha Takahashi happened," Kagome snarled and picked her books up off the floor. "Ever since I met him, my concentration's been out the window. Damn it! Why'd ever did I have to meet that stupid InuYasha!" The two girls were walking out the doors. "I mean, why can't I get him out of my head?" The two females were so deep in their conversation that they didn't notice Miroku just around the corner.

"InuYasha should find this interesting," Miroku said with a smile and disappeared.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

InuYasha shoved aside the pile of Miroku's magazines and opened his closet. "Shit," He swore as he looked through the empty storage space. "I forgot to do laundry this weekend." He looked over at Miroku's side of the room and walked over to it. He threw open the closet and examined Miroku's extensive wardrobe. With a smile, he chose an outfit for the day. "Thanks, Miroku!" He laughed and slipped into the bathroom.

Miroku opened the door and looked around. His eye fell on his open closet door. "You know, you really should ask before you borrow my clothes," he called through the bathroom door.

"Whatever," InuYasha's voice called back. After a few minutes, he emerged from the bathroom, dressed in Miroku's black shirt and blue jeans. "You're home early," InuYasha commented, "Sango get tired of you that quickly?"

"For your information," Miroku said and sat on InuYasha's bed, "I left before I even talked to Lady Sango. I heard some very interesting news you might want to know."

"Like what?" InuYasha asked as he put his clothes in the washer. He didn't want to borrow Miroku's clothes more than once. They were a tight fit and uncomfortable to walk in. Besides, who knew where these pants had been? InuYasha shuddered and quickly banished the thought that quickly followed this question.

"Like the fact that Miss Kagome Higurashi has been thinking about you almost non-stop."

InuYasha froze for a moment, but then shrugged it off. "So?"

"Thinking about you so much she can't concentrate on school."

This made InuYasha turn around and smile. "Eavesdropping or making it up?"

"It was by pure chance I heard it." Miroku held his right hand up in a Boy Scout salute. "Honest."

"So," InuYasha said and sat down in a chair, "What do you think about it?"

"I think the high-scholar has fallen for the college man." Miroku joking put his hand on InuYasha's shoulder and smiled deviously.

InuYasha waved Miroku's words away. "Can't be," he said, "We're completely opposite."

"She likes art."

"So?"

"You like art. So you guys aren't completely opposite."

InuYasha sighed and leaned back. _She can't like me. It's just not…Nah. She may like me as a friend. Yeah, that's it._ He smiled at Miroku, "Hey, what do you say we invite those girls to dinner this weekend?"

Miroku pulled out two tickets. "Way ahead of you. Four tickets to the concert at the Hot Spot this Saturday."

InuYasha nodded. "That'll work."


	4. No new men

Disclaimer: I claim no ownership to the characters.

_**An Artist's Heart**_

Kagome opened the door and walked into her house. "Hello?" She called.

"Oh, Kagome, honey! You're home!" Ms. Higurashi smiled as she came out from the kitchen.

_Something's not right…She's too….perky for a Monday afternoon. _"Mom, you okay?"

"Oh I'm wonderful!" Ms. Higurashi smiled even bigger," I-"

"What's the hold up?" Kagome looked over her mother's shoulder to see a tall man with brown hair cut short and brown eyes. He wore a blue t-shirt and jeans. Kagome glared suspiciously.

"Who's he?"

Ms. Higurashi turned to look at the man. "Oh!" She stepped over and put her arms on his shoulders. "This," she said, as if talking to the man and not Kagome, "Is Tsubasa-the one I told you about-my boyfriend. I mean-" Ms. Higurashi smiled at him as they shared a silent secret.

"What?" Kagome asked, her voice sounding more desperate than she'd intended.

"I mean, Tsubasa is my..."

"Close friend?" Kagome asked hopefully.

"No, Kagome. I mean Tsubasa is my fiancée."

Kagome froze. She stared in shock at her mother. At this person she thought was her mother. "W-What?" She asked.

"My fiancée," Ms. Higurashi repeated.

"Isn't it wonderful?" Tsubasa asked with a boyish grin.

Kagome froze, a horrified expression on her face. "F-Fiancée? What do you mean fiancée?"

"I mean we're engaged to be married," Ms. Higurashi said matter-of-factly. Her worry was mounting as Kagome's eyes began to fill up with tears. _Please, please don't take this too badly! _Ms. Higurashi silently prayed for her daughter's understanding, but it didn't look like it was going to come.

"Since when?" Kagome asked, venom etching itself into her voice.

"H-He just proposed yesterday," Ms. Higurashi's voice was quiet as she strained to keep calm.

Kagome stood there, her eyes cast downward. "How could you? How could you replace my father? Your husband!"

"I'm not trying to replace him!" Ms. Higurashi cried, stepping forward and putting a hand to her chest. "Your father will always be in my heart, but I don't want to mourn him forever! He wanted us to be happy, Kagome…" She walked over and hugged her daughter. "He wanted us to move on with our lives. Not forget him, not replace him, just to be happy."

"I'm not happy with another man," Kagome said, tears falling down her cheek. "I'm happy with dad, and no one else." Ms. Higurashi stood in silence. Tsubasa had long ago slipped out the door. She silently thanked him.

"I'm sorry," Ms. Higurashi whispered, "But I need someone else. Tsubasa will never replace your dad. No one will! But he can help build this family up again, so that your father can smile down and glow with pride as he watches his children grow and be happy from the heavens. I can't make that happen alone, Kagome. I-I just hope that you can understand that."

"I hate you," Kagome whispered, looking up through her bangs. Her eyes were in shadow. Ms. Higurashi gasped and pulled away as if slapped. As her mother sadly began to cry, Kagome tore her eyes away from her mother's face and ran to her room, tears falling the entire way.

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Sango sat down in one of the few chairs scattered around the kitchen. _Finally, some peace and quite. _She flipped to a page in her magazine. **Briiing!** Sango jumped as the phone's shrill ring filled the house. She hurried over and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Sango?" _Hm? Kagome?_

"Kagome? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Kagome said quietly.

"Yes, there is something wrong. What is it?"

"Nothing."

It was quite for a few moments. Sango could hear an Evenesance song in the background.

"Kagome?"

"Yes?"

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, Sango! Everything's wrong! My grades are slipping! Mom's got a new fiancée! I miss InuYasha! I just..." Kagome started sobbing into the phone.

"Shhh, shhh," Sango tried to calm Kagome down. "It's okay. Now what's this about your mom's new fiancée? And- wait a sec! Did you say you missed InuYasha!"

Kagome sniffed. "Yeah, I guess so. Why?"

"No reason. Now, come on. Vent." It took Kagome ten minutes of incoherent sobbing and speed talk to tell the entire story.

"And that's when I told her I hated her," Kagome finished.

Sango sighed. "Kagome-"

"I know. I screwed up."

"Yeah, you sort of did. Can you understand where your mother's coming from?"

"Yeah. But how can she just throw in some new guy and call him my 'new' father! It makes no sense, Sango! Doesn't she love dad anymore?"

"I'm sure she does," Sango said lovingly, "But don't you love your mom? I mean, truly love her?"

Kagome was quite for a few moments, but then she said, "Yes, I do."

"Then think about her happiness. But, on your half, try asking your mom if she can just remain engaged for awhile. At least until you get used to the idea of a new father."

"I don't think I ever will!" Kagome said, "But I guess I can try it. Huh? Oh, I've got to go. Mom's at the door. Oh, and by the way Sango…"

"Yes?"

"You'd make a great physiatrist. Bye."

"Bye." Sango hung up the phone and leaned against the wall. "Physiatrist, eh? Now there's something to think about." And she picked up her magazine again, returning to her "me time".

R&R please. This chapter didn't take much revising—just a few grammatical errors. Don't I feel special?


	5. The Discovery

Disclaimer: I don't own it. Never did, never will.

_**An Artist's Heart**_

Chapter 5-The Discovery

Kagome and Sango walked along the road, the two of them talking and laughing as usual. "Sango-chan! Kagome-chan!" The two girls turned to see Miroku running up to them.

"What is it?" Sango asked. It had been almost three weeks since Kagome had run into InuYasha on the bus and the friendship had become…an interesting one. Miroku was constantly popping up out of nowhere, and InuYasha had made a point of picking Kagome up after school almost every day and driving her home. He claimed that he was on his way to work, but Miroku had told her that InuYasha's work was across town, nowhere near Kagome's school.

"I…thought…ugh, hold on…" Miroku gasped as he put his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath. As he did so, his green t-shirt fell forward slightly and Sango found herself looking at his well-toned chest. She blushed deeply at the thoughts running through her head and turned around, pretending to look at something before either Kagome or Miroku noticed. "Okay," Miroku said, straitening up, "InuYasha and I thought you might like to go to a concert. You know the one at the club with the stupid name?"

"You mean the Hot Spot?" Kagome asked with a giggle.

"That's the one," Miroku said, smiling, "So, what do you say?"

Sango spun around, nearly falling over, and grinned at the boy, "Tickets? To the concert everyone's been dying to see? The one that's been sold out for almost a week? Of course we'd love to go!"

Kagome smiled as well. "Sure," she said lightly, finding Sango's reaction highly amusing, "What time?"

"InuYasha and I will pick you up at your house at eight o' clock Saturday." He wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it to them. "Here's our number. Call us sometime, okay?" And with a wink, he spun around and started jogging back, the sound of his shoes fading slowly.

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Kagome stood in front of the full length mirror, admiring her dress. "That looks nice," Sango said, sitting on Kagome's bed, a magazine in front of her.

"Yeah, but do you think it's too…flashy?"

"No, not at all."

"But it looks like I was searching for hours for something!"

"You were." Sango stood up and walked over to Kagome to help her put her hair in a bun. "Trust me-bobby pin, please-you look great."

Kagome smiled and looked in the mirror again. The dress was black with spaghetti straps and fell just above the knee, looking modest and flirty at the same time. On her feet were matching high heel sandals and her mother had applied just the right amount of makeup to Kagome's face, making for a beautiful girl ready to dance and party all night.

As for Sango, she wore a dark blue tank top over low rider jeans and black strap sandals. Her hair was in a high ponytail and she wore almost no makeup, providing for a sporty girl who also looked very feminine.

"Kagome! InuYasha is here!" Ms. Higurashi's voice floated up the stairs.

"Okay, mom! Be down in a second!" Kagome called down and grabbed her bag. "Are you sure it's not too much?" She looked in the mirror again.

Sango rolled her eyes and pushed Kagome out the door. "It's fine," she said.

At the bottom of the stairs, InuYasha and Miroku stood talking to Kagome's mother about the evening they had planned. "Ah, there she is!" Ms. Higurashi smiled at her daughter as she walked down the stairs.

InuYasha followed her gaze and had to stop from dropping his jaw. He'd never seen Kagome so dressed up! "H-Hello, Kagome. You look…absolutely gorgeous!"

Kagome smiled and blushed. "So do you!" She replied, admiring InuYasha's casual dress outfit. He was wearing a nice black jacket over a red shirt and black pants. But his hair was still a tangled mess, she saw.

"Ah, Lady Sango," Miroku smiled, sliding past InuYasha to talk to his date, "I like your choice of clothing. After all, who doesn't love a girl who likes to go out and have fun?"

Sango smirked slightly, an attempted cover-up so they wouldn't notice her blush. "Thank you," she said, "You don't look half bad yourself." Miroku smiled proudly, knowing he looked good in his t-shirt and dark blue dress pants (which were actually InuYasha's).

"Well, shall we go?" Kagome requested and everyone nodded in agreement. Outside, Kagome let out a small squeal when she saw he limo parked in front of the shrine.

"Thought we needed something special," InuYasha explained lightly, opening the door, "Slide on in." Kagome immediately obeyed.

"I've never been in a limo!" She exclaimed excitedly.

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Sango looked around at the flashing lights and packed, dancing bodies with a grin. She'd waited forever to get into this club! "Cool song!" Kagome shouted over the dance song that was playing.

"Yeah!" Sango yelled back.

InuYasha came up behind them. "You guys want some drinks?"

"Sure!" Sango responded. InuYasha nodded and walked over to the bar.

"I hope he doesn't get any alcohol! You know what I'm like with that stuff," Kagome said, laughing. Sango rolled her eyes, secretly praying InuYasha didn't.

"Do you like it?" Miroku asked, grinning.

"Yeah, it's awesome!" Sango told him. InuYasha returned and handed them all drinks. Fortunately for the girls (who were underage anyways), none of them were alcoholic.

A voice boomed over the crowd and everyone stopped to listen, "And now, may we present, the reason you came here tonight, the Enslavers!" (A/N: The whole "Enslavers" thing was not, I repeat NOT, my idea! I couldn't come with a name. All credit for that goes out to my friend.) The club broke into cheers as three girls came out on stage, followed by two guys.

"I love these guys!" Sango yelled out and pulled Miroku onto the dance floor, followed by InuYasha and Kagome.

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"Oh my God! That was so much fun!" Kagome said laughing as she and Sango climbed out of the limo.

"Glad you enjoyed it," InuYasha said, "Feel free to call us any time."

"Yeah, we'll do something else another time!" Miroku agreed.

"Sure! Bye!" Sango and Kagome waved as the limo drove away.

"Was that InuYasha?" The two girls spun around to see none other than Kagome's neighbor Kikyo standing behind them.

"Yeah, what's it to you?" Sango asked suspiciously.

"Aren't you two a little young for InuYasha and Miroku?" Kikyo asked.

"What do you mean?" Kagome said, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Aren't you aware InuYasha's in college?" Kikyo asked, obviously surprised that they didn't know this.

"WHAT!" Kagome and Sango both yelled.

END

Please R&R


	6. Learning to Cope

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own it.

_**An Artist's Heart**_

Chapter 6-Learning to Cope

(((This chapter takes place three days after Sango and Kagome found out about InuYasha and Miroku. They have yet to confront them)))

InuYasha pulled up as the students filed out of the building. He spotted Sango, but Kagome wasn't with her. "Hi, InuYasha," Sango said, approaching the car.

"Where's Kagome?" InuYasha immediately asked.

"She wasn't as school today," Sango said calmly, "Why?"

"Damn wench!" InuYasha snarled, "I go out of my way to help her and this is what it gets me."

"I thought this was on your way," Sango smirked, not at all surprised at his reaction. The more they got to know him, the more they learned that he wasn't the perfect gentleman he pretended to be.

"Um, uh…" InuYasha blushed and quickly sped away, leaving Sango laughing.

"He's so fun to tease," she laughed before heading home.

Kagome sighed as the paint brush stroked across the canvas. It was a picture of a cherry blossom tree, the kanji for "beauty" in the middle. "It's very nice." Kagome jumped and turned to see Miroku standing behind her.

"Oh, hi. How did you-?" Kagome asked, puzzled.

"Well, this is where InuYasha sometimes comes to paint. It's funny really, watching someone like him paint." Miroku said rather sadly as he traced his fingers along a half finished sculpture of a mermaid.

"InuYasha paints?" Kagome asked, surprised.

"Yeah. You didn't know?"

"No, no one ever told me." Kagome looked at the floor, an expression of hurt on her face.

Miroku laughed. "It's not something he's proud of. I found out when I caught him trying to sneak away to here on one evening after a particularly stressful day. Of course I didn't tease him about him." Kagome looked at him knowingly. "On that day. It'd be so cruel."

"You were afraid he'd kill you, right?"

"Well, sort of, I guess…" Miroku smiled at Kagome, who smiled back. "Well, I'll leave you to your work." Miroku turned to leave.

"Um, Miroku?"

"Yes?"

"Do you have any samples of InuYasha's work?"

"Well," Miroku said slyly, "There is one portrait he did just a couple days ago. I believe it's over here." Miroku walked over to one of the many shelves in the room and took down a canvas. "Ah, yes, this is the one." Miroku showed to Kagome, and she gasped. On the canvas was a portrait of her, her hair blowing in the wind and a smile on her face. It was from when they'd gone to the park.

"It's…amazing," Kagome said, admiring the detail to the background and the cherry blossoms flying in the wind.

"Yes, InuYasha's particularly fond of this one. Well, I'd better go," Miroku said, placing the portrait next to Kagome, "InuYasha will be home soon and it's my turn to cook dinner."

Kagome stared at the painting for a moment. "Miroku?"

"Yes?"

"Uh, well, Kikyo told Sango and me something. Um, is it true that you guys are in college?"

Miroku sighed. "Yes. I really didn't want you to find out from Kikyo. We thought you knew, but when we realized you didn't-"

"How did you figure out that we didn't know?"

"You asked InuYasha what high school he went to."

"Oh yeah," Kagome blushed, "I figured, I don't know, maybe he went to a school I knew of. I was wondering why he didn't answer."

"Anyways, when we realized you didn't know, we decided to tell you, but Kikyo beat us to it."

"How does Kikyo know InuYasha?"

"They used to date. They broke up for reasons unknown."

"Oh."

"Well, I really need to leave. InuYasha gets very angry when I slack off. He's already mad because he had to take off work so I could go to an interview. Good-bye, Kagome-chan." Miroku walked out the door and Kagome sat frozen for a few moments, before turning to her canvas and grabbing a new one. She lifted her brush and slowly began her painting. Three hours later, she was staring at a painting of InuYasha sitting by the fountain in the park, splashing water on Miroku.

InuYasha opened the door and threw his coat on the floor. Miroku poked his head out of the kitchen. "Please," he glared at InuYasha, "I just picked up all your crap."

"Whatever," InuYasha said and collapsed on his bed.

"Rough day?" Miroku asked as he piled the curry he'd cooked on two plates.

"You sound like a housewife, but, yeah, it was a hard day. Some idiot kept ordering and than saying it wasn't right. I finally threw him out."

"Did you literally throw him?"

"Course not. It was more of a toss."

"You're so violent. It's amazing you haven't been fired." Miroku handed InuYasha a plate and sat down with his own.

"What can I say? My boss likes me."

"Your boss is afraid of you."

"Same thing." InuYasha took a bite of the curry and immediately jumped up, ran to the kitchen, and downed a glass of water. When the burning sensation had left his mouth, he stormed out and gave Miroku a death glare. "You know I hate spicy food," he growled.

Miroku shrugged and took a bite of his own curry. "Sorry, I guess I gave you the wrong kind." He gave an innocent grin.

"Somehow, I highly doubt it was an accident."

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Kagome was jerked awake by the sound of her cell phone ringing. "Ugh...moshi-moshi…"Kagome groggily answered it.

"Kagome!" Her mother's panicked voice was on the other end.

"Yes?"

"Oh thank God! I've been trying to call you for half an hour. Do you know what time it is!"

"Uh...no…" Kagome looked over at the clock on the wall and was horrified as she saw that it was almost one 'o clock in the morning. "I'm so sorry mom! I fell asleep and-"

"It's alright, honey, we'll talk tomorrow. I'm just glad you're safe. But please come home right away!"

"Yeah, of course, mom. Thanks. Bye." She closed the cell phone and looked around her. The paintings she had done-there had to be at least a dozen-were laid out on a table to dry and the unfinished picture of a kitten she had been working on was sitting in front of her. "Oh, man. Well, at least I feel better." She stood and picked up her backpack before heading towards the door. Half way there, she stopped and looked over at where InuYasha's painting lay. She walked back over, picked it up, and left, hugging it close to her chest.

THE END

Please R&R.


End file.
